Here are a couple of things you might not know:
Hawaii is beautiful.
Hawaii is one wonderful place to spend three weeks in the middle of winter.
Oh, you knew that already?
Of course you did.
Hawaii, of course, is not exactly off the beaten track. We did, however, find a little house to rent in the tiny town of Hawi, on the Big Island, and just returned from three glorious weeks of watching whales, hiking in rainforests, and hanging out on gorgeous beaches. It was heaven.
The little house:
and the walk to the ocean cliffs that we took each day from the little house:
But the whales! The whales were the unexpected bonus. I knew that the humpback whales migrate from Alaska to the waters off of Maui and the Big Island to breed and have their babies, but I didn’t realize that we’d be able to watch them every day from shore, or that they would be so wonderfully entertaining. The first morning we walked to the cliffs, and we were stunned by the number of whales we saw breaching:
and flapping their flippers, and spouting…
The best, though, was the day we saw whales breaching all around a small sailboat. I kept my camera focused on the sailboat, hoping that a whale would breach close enough to get them both in in the frame, and….
Success! Can you imagine being the guy in that little boat?
Off the Beaten Path: Hikes, Backpacks, and Travels 
Good for you Cindy! 🙂
Thanks – and thanks for still reading after my little blogging vacation!
That sounds so revitalizing! Sometimes you just have to disconnect 🙂 I have been embroiled in changing over to self hosting Hot Mama Hikers and am so jealous of your break. I can’t wait until it warms up and I can have some adventure away from the computer screen. Fantastic pictures too!
I didn’t realize that I was tired of the computer until it went away, and then I realized that I wasn’t missing it at all. But do feel revitalized now! Hang in there – sunshine is coming soon!
Wow, that’s incredible….what a magical stay.
Can’t imagine how it would feel to be in that little sailboat!
The guy in the sailboat actually seemed totally unaware – his back was to the whale. But he had to hear it when it landed!
I thot watching the whales was pretty impressive in Hawaii but your experience of watching so many breech sounds absolutely fantastic.
Locals kept commenting on what an active year it’s been, so I think we were pretty lucky.
BEAUTIFUL!! And welcome back. Good to hear from you again.
Nice. Thanks!
Sounds like an amazing trip. I’ve never been to Hawaii, or seen breaching whales. Thanks for sharing!
Hawaii was actually not on my radar, but what a gorgeous and relaxing place. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
My kids have told me the same thing, that it’s so beautiful and relaxing. One day I’ll make it there!
We talked about doing this a lot. Maybe this will be the inspiration. Great photos as always.
It’s definitely a great place to get away from winter. A little more difficult to get there from the east coast, though!
Wow, you get the best photos! I love Hawaii but have never stayed on the big island. From your photos, it’s just as beautiful as the others.
Hard to not get some decent photos in such a wonderful place. Thanks!